Secrets About
by Beckon
Summary: Sometimes she wanted to kick herself for not telling him before he left and other times, she praised herself for pushing it off for so long.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was supposed to be a oneshot but it turned out to be fifteen pages long and... I wasn't going to post that all as a single chapter. **

"I shouldn't be gone long, a few weeks at most."

She watched him carefully from where she stood, taking note of every brief shift in his expression, watching how it played on his solid features. He spoke clearly; his tone strong and never once wavering, but it was his eyes that broke the illusion. There was the hesitation, the reluctancy to follow through, the overall displeasure in the situation. She always assumed his rank in the military had given him the skills to hide what he needed to, to appear more confident than he ever was in something, but she knew the act; she knew how to overlook it, how to break it.

Fingers curled lightly around the thin glass in her hands, hoping to distill her own sense of worry.

"Who exactly are you escorting?" she questioned, slipping into her own act as she moved to set the same glass onto the overhanging rack above her. The stillness of the tavern around them only seemed to echo with every little breath, suffocating the silence.

"Senators mostly." he answered, choosing the easiest answer available.

"Will it just be you going?"

The brief pause of silence allowed for her to brace herself for the coming answer.

"I've already put together a small unit of soldiers to come along." he continued, arms slowly moving to cross over his chest.

"You're not bringing the Royal Knights with you?" yet another question, but this one was peaked with a small hint of curiosity. If he had planned on bringing them with him though, he would've said so or at least dropped a few names but… he didn't.

He held his ground though.

"Makalov and Astrid took the rest of the year off; Danved is assisting with the reconstruction in the west and Marcia's helping train some of the new recruits in Begnion. I'd prefer if Kieran and Lucia stayed here in the event if something happens."

That was right… she forgot more than half of the Royal Knights had split to take care of other businesses. Only a small handful of them had remained here. By next year though, they would all be back together and working as one force again. She wished they were together now though so that he wouldn't have to be the one to leave, or at least so that a few could offer to go alongside. She never considered herself someone to worry, worrying left lines and grievances on the skin, but this… this dug a bitter hole into her chest.

Fingers moved to pick up another glass from the counter in front of her and slowly placed it on the same overhanging rack.

"… When do you leave?"

She asked but she really didn't want to know the answer.

And he seemed just as reluctant to give it to her.

"Tomorrow."

Her grip slipped on the overhanging glass, missing the notch completely, and allowed for the glass to tumble back down; it splintered and shattered into thick shards as it broke against the edge of the counter, spilling its remains to the floor below.

He winced briefly at the ordeal before he moved towards her; the floorboards underneath creaking softly with each step. "Be careful, don't get to close to the glass."

Not that she really needed the warning, she owned a tavern and had broken plenty of glasses before; she even had one thrown at her once.

She stepped back slightly at the sharp collision of the glass against the polished counter and watched how the broken shards shot off in all directions; several of the pieces getting stuck underneath her heels. It seemed to take a moment before she moved to pinch the empty space between her eyes, a soft chuckle eventually escaping her. "I don't know why I'm acting like this." she remarked before she pushed herself from the counter, making her way over to where she had set the broom aside. "I guess I just thought since the war was over, then there wouldn't be any need for us to travel apart anymore."

Ugh, she sounded like an aged, old housewife.

Hands moved to retrieve the worn down broom from the far corner, barely noticing the way he managed to take it from her grasp.

"Believe me, I thought so too." he replied. "Can't say that I'm really looking forward to the journey myself."

A long sigh escaped her before she moved to rest her hands against his arms, tangling her fingers in the thick material of his sleeves. When she met his eyes next, she could see the slight exhaustion that had settled in his features. "It's just that, the construction on the house is almost done, I'm getting those new orders in next week for the inn and Amy starts school again soon enough… I really would've liked if you were there for all of it."

He set the broom aside and moved to pull her in against him. "Everything seems to be on the wrong time schedule here. The senators had to choose this week of all to finally get back on the road, right when half of our forces left to deal with their own conflicts… it's just a mess."

"I was thinking the same." she remarked, resting her chin against his chest. "Just remember though… if you stay away too long, I'm going to have to decorate the inside of the house and you'll just have to deal with the color scheme."

"I'll try to rush back as soon as I can then." he chuckled as he brushed his lips against her forehead. "Don't have the house warming party without me."

"I don't know if I can promise that much but we'll see."

* * *

She was never one for goodbyes so she decided not to go see him off; he probably wouldn't want her there anyways. She'd probably end up embarrassing him in front of those Senators… hmm, maybe she should've gone to see him just for that. Instead, she ended up spending those hours catching up on her sleep while Amy snuggled in the same bed as her.

By the time the sun peeked in through the windows, she knew he was gone.

This would be the longest day for her, not that she thought the rest of them would be any easier. He said he'd be gone for a few weeks at most but… even that was too long. Sighing lightly, she brushed her fingers through the tangled, violet-red locks that were pressed against her chest and listened to the soft murmurs that left the child.

"Momma?"

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"When will Sir Geoffrey be back?"

Already the questions were starting.

A light, almost forced chuckle left her before she moved to lightly kiss the girl's forehead. "In a few weeks, honey."

"That sounds like a long time."

Yeah it did.

"It'll go by quick enough." she assured before she moved to force herself away from the sheets, knowing that if she didn't do so now, she would probably stay in bed all day. "Now then, we need to get you one more outfit before you start school next week."

And just like that, she watched as the girl practically sprang out of bed and ran out of the room; hurrying to get dressed and freshened up in the bathroom. She caught herself laughing once more before she started her own slower process of getting to her feet. Sometimes she thought the girl was the only child in the town who was excited for the next school session; she had been dragging her around trying to finish getting supplies for the new classes and tended to talk nonstop about the topic. She was glad that she was eager to learn though- even if the enthusiasm would die down in the later years, as long as she could keep that passion now. Moving to her feet, she slipped out of the loose, sleeping gown and walked over to her dressing cabinet; pausing only briefly when she caught sight of her own reflection in the mirror.

She looked tired, almost exhausted really… she guessed she didn't sleep as well as she thought. The realization of that seemed to bring note to the momentary pain in her joints before it seemed to reside in her skin just as well.

She couldn't let the matter slow her down though and moved to pull open the doors to the wardrobe. Now then, one step at a time… what was she going to wear today?

* * *

It felt like each day moved more painstakingly than the last. She tried to stop counting them but she still found herself going back to the calendar that hung in the tavern. She swore it felt like months since he had left but time had only gone on for a week at most. Her orders had been brought in and she hated to admit that she was disappointed in the received shipments; she had ordered for new carpet to be put into the inn but the material that was delivered didn't even resemble the one she picked out. After a brief argument with the workers, she managed to get them to go back and review the paperwork to prove which of them had been right.

She was all the more confident that she was in the right and didn't bother to listen to their muttered complaints as they reloaded the shipment.

While it put a slight damper on the rest of her day, she tried to go back to work with her head still on straight.

She guessed she didn't really try hard enough with that last part though. All it seemed to take was just a mere two hours of working the counters at the tavern before her skull felt like it was trying to split. It was a tight sense of pressure behind her eyes that blurred her vision a few times; casting white spots in the corners of her eyes. She managed to overlook the ordeal for a short bit before she had to call in someone to take her place; it was barely two at that point but she felt as though she was going to pass out if she stayed longer. It was easy to place blame on the lack of sleep, the stress from earlier, all combined with the smoke and smell of liquor in the air.

The calming atmosphere of the inn was more suiting and helped to heal her raging headache for the moment; there was a still a lingering sense of tightness but it was far less damaging this time around. Her body was actually aching from the ordeal as well… she really needed to look into catching up on her sleep; maybe she should quit with the late night worrying, they were only going to make her health worse. And she certainly didn't want to look like an exhausted mess when he returned.

* * *

As though to help counterbalance her experience with the carpenters for the inn, a letter came in to certify that the construction of their house had finally been finished. They had previously settled on the idea of a nice little cottage not too far from the city so that they could both be in a comfortable distance to their work places. What had started out as a small idea somehow managed to turn into the physical form of a two story house with the staircase in the back and the windows gifted with brightly painted panels and sills. Walking through the empty shell, she saw where each room matched perfectly to the ones that had been drawn out on paper… it was exactly everything they had planned for.

"Where's my room going to be?" Amy questioned, following not too far behind her as she just ducked out from where the kitchen would be.

She chuckled lightly at the remark and looked over the larger sitting area she stood in at the moment. "It's upstairs, do you want to go see it?" the words barely finished from her lips before the girl was thundering towards the back of the house. The sound of quick feet hopping up the stairs meant she was going to waste no time in claiming the best room. With a soft shake of her head, she followed at a slower pace and moved to overlook all the rooms once more.

Fingers ran over the smooth surface of the railing that lined down one side of the stairs before she followed them up the decorated floor above. While the house would remain as a shell for now, until they got the furniture in that is, it still had a lively feel to it… The location of it played well with the exterior; the placement of the open windows allowed for the natural light to flood the long hallways.

"This one!" she glanced up at the call and watched as Amy peeked out from the doorway at the far end of the corridor. "Can I have this one?"

"It's all yours." she nodded, watching as the girl ducked back into the room. She didn't want to tell her that the room had already been designed for her anyways… it was just more fun to see her get excited for it.

She moved towards the first door on her right and carefully pushed it from its frame, opening it to the wide room on the other side. It was a little smaller than what she had imagined but it would be big enough for the two of them. The master bedroom… she was already picking out the different decorations she could put on the wall and what she could dress the floorboards with; he'd probably hate all of it because he preferred to keep things simple, but he wouldn't want to tell her that. Not that he ever had to, she already knew.

A light smile played on her lips at the thought of finally having a place of their own.

They were both so dedicated to their work that they tended to just stay there for a majority of the time. He had his own place in the palace and she had a room at the tavern and at the inn. But they had both been so determined to find some kind of middle ground to work with; they both agreed that when work died down for some breathing room, they would settle down in a place of their own. And here it was… now to just wait for the work portion to cut down.

"How long before we can move in?"

Always so eager and full of questions already.

She spared another chuckle at the girl's excitement and looked back to where she stood just behind her. "I don't know… we already have the furniture picked out, all we need to do is get some people to help move it all in. Maybe a few days at most? By the end of the week at the latest."

"Really?!"

"I promise."

* * *

Somehow, once the house was fully furnished, it felt emptier…

She blamed it on herself though, on her overactive memories that seemed to grow in the stilling silence. They had planned ahead of themselves and once the blueprints of the house had been approved and started on, they went shopping. She was glad their tastes seemed to match for the most part and the few times they came up on opposite sides, the argument was easy to dispel and they both were happy with the results. They put down the payments for every piece and had them stored away for a later day, or for this time, whenever the house was finished. That way all they would have to do is go pick up the pieces and have them delivered back here where they could arrange the pieces as they liked.

It had been easy to secure a moving crew and while she had wished they weren't so clumsy at times, she was glad to have gotten one on such short time. She dictated where each piece would go although she was certain he would change a few of them the moment he returned…

Seated on the small couch in the living area, she listened to the silence and let it develop around her. Amy was asleep upstairs, exhausted from her first week of school that she had talked nonstop about up until she fell asleep. It was just herself sitting there in the faint amount of darkness. She used to regard herself as being clearly independent and never needing someone else to lean on, but right then… she felt like she needed his shoulder to be against.

Eyes closed for a moment as she leaned back against the cushions behind her, a small lingering ache still remaining in the back of her head. She had worked a full shift and a half that day on stressed sleep… it felt like her body was falling apart already. She never used to have a problem with sleeping in an empty bed, Goddess knows they had spent plenty of nights apart anyways. She guessed it was just that this was supposed to be their house, they should've been sharing the master bed upstairs. Instead, it was just her…

Well maybe not just her.

And maybe it just wasn't stressed sleep that was making her feel so awful as of lately.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow, full house today."

She glanced up at the remark and heard herself chuckle lightly at the sight of the blue haired woman who was just now taking a seat on the other side of the counter. "Yeah, I guess everyone's been working hard today." Calill replied as fingers moved to tuck aside a few loose strands of hair before she looked back to the slightly cluttered shelf in front of her. It took a few more seconds before she managed to locate the bottle she was looking for and pulled it down. "Can I get you the usual?"

"I'm still technically on duty and we're technically not supposed to drink… but it's been a long day and I could really use one." Lucia remarked with a tired grin. "Don't tell Elincia about it though."

"I'll try not to let it slip." she assured as she turned back and grabbed a smaller bottle from the bottom shelf. Brushing off the bottle slightly, she walked back towards the counter and placed it in front of the woman before she reached for a glass from the rack above. "Have the whole thing if you need it."

"Oh sadly enough... I do, thank you." she smiled, watching as the other woman poured and swirled together the drink. She always found it interesting to watch the barmaid mix different drinks together and wondered how she managed to memorize all the specific combinations. On a busy night like this, the woman could balance all sorts of drinks together, somehow able to know which was which even if they all looked the same.

A light frown briefly caught onto her lips as the woman set the glass down in front of her. She thought it was a mistake from a distance but up close, she was now certain of herself; her fingers were shaking. While that might've not meant much, it did seem to draw attention to barmaid's complexion; she thought it was just the lighting at first, but the woman seemed remarkably pale. Even with the usual application of make up she wore, it was easy to see the lack of color in her face- even her lips were white beneath the red shade of her lipstick. Recalling back to the near six years of working together, she couldn't think of a time where she saw the woman without color like this; she was always healthy looking or was able to play it off a lot better than this.

It was just...odd, but the woman carried on with her orders like nothing was troubling her.

Lucia sipped occasionally at her drink and waited for the blonde-haired woman to swing by her once more- and even then, she still had to flag her down. "Hey, uh, I was just wondering, are you feeling alright?"

A light sigh escaped her as she finished up the drink in front of her before she slid it down the counter- hoping the man who ordered it would catch it in time. "Yeah, it's just been a long day already." she remarked. "Sorry if I seem a little absent-minded right now."

"No it's just that… you look a little pale." Lucia noted, trying to use a gradual pace with her approach. "Are you sleeping alright? Eating well?"

"I'm fine… everything's fine." Calill assured once more as she moved to brace her hands against the edge of the counter. "I mean, sleep seems to be a privilege these days but it's nothing serious. And, as for eating well, I think I've been kind of stress eating lately; my dress doesn't fit quite as well as it used to." the last sentence brought a light chuckle to her as she tried to break the slight tension between them.

Well, she wouldn't doubt it if it was the stress getting to her. The woman had a lot going for her these past few weeks and seemed to have some difficulty juggling between them all. "Maybe you should take the rest of the day off, you look like you're going to collapse."

Taking the rest of the day off sounded great, but she had already taken the last three days off, so she felt entitled to at least work today. "I'll be fine." she replied. "Like I said, it's just been a busy day and I probably didn't sleep as well as I wish I had."

Frowning once more, Lucia pushed herself to her feet and moved to rest her hands against the Fire Sage's arms. "Hey now, you're married to my brother, I'm entitled to make sure you're doing okay."

It took a moment before a weak chuckle left her lips. She couldn't exactly dispel the woman's concerns now and... she couldn't deny what she was saying either. She had looked absolutely terrible that morning and there was no doubt that she was looking even worse now. Giving out a half defeated sigh, she managed a short smile. "Well, I guess you do have some merit… this time anyways. I can call in Margaret to cover the shift for me. Again."

While she wanted to question the 'again' portion of that sentence, she decided not to push too much at one time. "Alright, and you can let me take you home."

"Hey, all you have to do is make sure I'm doing okay; you don't need to spoil me." Calill chuckled. "That's your brother's job- which, he does well, might I add."

"Oh believe me, I know; I've seen your ring."

* * *

The ride back to the house, at any other time, was usually easy to make and sometimes refreshing since it gave her a chance for some fresh air. But this time, it felt like it was absolute torture. While the clean air and lingering silence was greatly appreciated compared to the stuffy, smoky air of the tavern, it still managed to leave her with yet another headache. What a surprise.

Hands fumbled slightly to unlock the front door before she eased it open and stepped in. "Well, home sweet home at last."

Lucia stepped in soon after and took a moment to look over the full furnished and elegantly decorated opening room. "Wow… you did a lot of work on this place in a short amount of time."

"We had most of it picked out ahead of time so it was just a matter of getting it all situated really." Calill spoke as she slipped out of her jacket and hung it on the wall hook nearby. "Oh that's right, you haven't gotten the chance to actually come down and check it out since it was finished."

"Unfortunately no." she replied as she stepped into the front room and slowly ran her fingers across the surface of the nearby table. "The palace has kept me busy ever since the war ended and Bastian doesn't make my time management any easier."

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Lucia in weeks, maybe even months, it seemed; she guessed work around the palace was heavier than they thought. Then again Queen Elincia was under a lot of pressure to get Crimea back together again on top of dealing with other diplomatic duties with Begnion and Daein alike. She had no doubt that the woman had probably spent every day running back and forth trying to get things done; she was probably more than happy to have some down time to spare.

Still, the Swordswoman seemed just as energetic as ever- as though the stress was doing nothing to affect her. It made her feel slightly embarrassed for seeming so weak as of lately.

Sighing, Calill brushed aside her loose bangs and moved towards the small couch that was pushed up against the far wall. She felt like she physically just dropped herself onto the cushion and swore she felt a brief hint of pain from her aching joints. That sense of pain that had been lingering for days now only seemed to get worse every time she tried to relax. She leaned down to unstrap her heels from her feet and tossed them aside when they were finally loose. "I'm thinking of ordering another table to take up the space in the middle of the room; I think it'll help break it up a bit more."

"Yeah, it sounds good, plus it'd give me a place to put my feet up." Lucia replied as she continued looking around the room before she eventually made her way over to where the other woman was seated on the couch. Carefully easing herself onto the soft cushions, she tucked one arm over the back and turned herself towards her. "So... how are you holding up?"

Well that was quite the question.

"I take it day by day." she assured, letting the cushions support her back once more as she leaned into them. "Although as of lately it feels like the days don't go by quick enough."

"Oh, I know the feeling." Lucia nodded. "I take it this isn't the first time you've had to leave your place at the tavern."

Calill chuckled lightly and moved her fingers to her lightly throbbing temples. "That noticeable then?"

"Well you mentioned before that you were going to let Margaret take over your shift again, so I kind of just put two and two together."

"I've... had to step out a few times before or else I probably would've passed out behind the counter or something. And while I never really figured myself to be a worrier, it just feels like it gets a little worse every day." she sighed before she had to take a moment to chuckle to herself once more. "I probably sound like a worried old housewife with this kind of talk."

"No, no, it's fine. I mean, if there's something wrong, you can tell me." Lucia assured. "Remember, I'm entitled to look after you now and if something happens and I don't try to resolve it... people are going to be asking me about it."

She knew the woman was just trying to cheer her up and it was working slightly. The hardest part about trying to answer her though was trying to fit the words around in her head. "It's just, he said it was a simple escort process to Begnion and maybe Daein as well, which I believe it would be. But... the war is still fresh whether we like it or not, and I have no doubts that there are still skirmishes happening here or there that are still having to be put down. I guess I'm just worried that something's going to happen, you know? The tavern's just been filled with rumors and how there have been some recent attacks on the borders and a few that weren't all that far from the city… I just can't stop thinking about them. It feels like it's just him out there and it's terrifying to think about."

She had heard those same words… and she'd be lying if she said they didn't frighten her as well. And while she didn't know they would take this kind of toll on her, she guessed she couldn't be all that surprised either. "I've heard those too and it makes me wish he had listened to me and taken Kieran with him… but he didn't because he cares more about the safety of the palace than himself."

"I mean, I trust him to defend himself but… there's still that lingering doubt, you know?" she remarked. "It's just that on top of the inn being under construction and keeping the tavern stocked and running and making sure Amy gets to school on time and… getting the house done and…" Goddess, she wasn't even aware her voice was breaking until she realized she couldn't finish her sentence. She felt ridiculous for getting so worked up but... it couldn't be helped really.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay." Lucia started as she reached over and rested one hand against her shoulder. "I know, there's just a whole lot going on and everyone's rushing to keep up and get things going… we're all bound to have a dropping point. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, you're going to overstress yourself and pass out or something worst might happen."

She probably wasn't going to admit that she had passed out once before but it was only for a few minutes at most. Sighing once more, she pressed her hands to her face and felt just the slight wetness on her cheeks. Was she really crying? She was just... losing all control right now. Still, she found herself chuckling once more and pressed one hand underneath her eye to try and clear the tears. "You want to know something?"

"Depends." Lucia replied, briefly searching through her jacket before she pulled out a small handkerchief, which she handed to her. "Is it good?"

Taking the small, folded piece of fabric, she tried to dab it as best she could without staining it with her loose make up. "I uh... well, I'm pregnant."

She expected a needed moment of silence for the Swordswoman to take in the full force of the remark and even felt her hand slightly withdraw from her shoulder. Dabbing at her other eye, she couldn't help but to curse herself once more for being a little weak emotion-wise; then again, she had been going through quite a few spells as of lately, a lot of ups and downs.

Turning her attention back to the other woman after a moment or two, she almost wanted to laugh at her expression. She had gone down a few skin tones herself and seemed caught between how to react or wondering if she had heard her correctly at all.

It took a moment before she seemed to snap herself free from the momentary trance. "Wha… when?" Lucia stammered briefly.

"Only a couple of weeks." she started. "Well, I mean, I figured out a few weeks ago, I'm further along than that."

"How far?"

"Uh, two months." Calill replied before she touched up one eye once more. "... Three months actually."

Again, a brief pocket of silence.

The woman seemed to struggle to find something to say or perhaps just find her voice in the first place. Goodness knows, she probably could've found a better place and time to suddenly blurt out the news.

"I didn't even know you guys were trying." Lucia remarked finally.

"We weren't really… I mean, we had talked about it, but that was it; we didn't really settle on specifics." Calill explained before she dropped her hands into her lap and slightly slumped back into the cushions. "When we were making the plans for the house, we had an extra room built in just in case but… that was about as far as we decided. I can't say that we ever really sat down and talked about it completely, we were both always so busy and it was and wasn't something for us to discuss at the time."

"Well I mean, regardless this is great news. It just means that you can't get yourself stressed like this." she started. "You should've told me sooner though, I could've like... made arrangements or something."

"Lucia… I haven't told anyone." she sighed. "I haven't even told Geoffrey… I knew about it before he even left, but I just… I don't know. I was trying to get over it myself and then find the right time to tell him. When I thought I finally had myself under control and was comfortable with saying something... the whole escort ordeal came up. And when he started telling me about the mission and how he didn't have any other choice but to go, I guess I just didn't want him to worry… I know how he is, how he can be, and something like this would just-"

"Make him pass out probably." Lucia finished with a brief chuckle. "He hardly likes being away from you on a regular basis, but with you carrying... he'd probably go crazy. Which you can deal with later when he returns. However, this just means that I'm going to have to step in for him during his absence."

She offered a similar chuckle and shook her head. "I don't know if you want to deal with me right now. I feel like such a mess… I just keep thinking about all these what ifs and they're driving me insane."

"I can't tell you not to worry about those because sometimes they just happen and you can't get rid of them. What I can tell you though is that he's going to come back and you guys are going to raise another beautiful child." she interrupted before she moved her hand to rest against her shoulder once more. "Although... you will have to deal with myself, Elincia and Bastian and… just about everyone really."

"Well... can't say that this won't be fun." Calill smiled lightly before she had to dab at her eyes once more. "Thank you, I really needed that. Although... just one more request."

"Go on."

"Just… don't tell anyone about it yet… he really should've been the first to know."

"You can count on me, my lips are sealed."

* * *

She had greatly considered that after going through the hardship of two wars, that nothing from here on out could be any more difficult than those. Nothing else should require that much blood, sweat and tears from her. However... it seemed like she was wrong in that assumption. There would be plenty of stones to jump over from here on out and... she was going to try and tackle one of them right now.

"Alright sweetheart, I have something very important that I want to tell you." Calill started.

Almost immediately, she watched as the young girl's face twisted slightly into questioning, as though she was trying to figure out what was going on before she said anything more. "What is it?"

Here went nothing.

"Well... do you remember when you wanted a little brother or sister because almost everyone in your class had one?" this probably wasn't the best or clearest approach, but it was something.

"Can I still get one?" Amy questioned in response.

She chuckled lightly at the remark, almost unable to continue on with her 'talk'. "Well sweetheart, if you still want one-"

"Yes."

She was relentless.

Clearing her throat, she gave a light nod and placed her hands together on the table in front of them. "Well, you're getting one."

The young girl seemed to have been rendered speechless for a moment, as though wondering if she was serious or not. But that act only lasted for a few seconds before she almost jumped out of her chair. "When? When will they get here? Is it a brother or a sister?"

"Well, we won't know until he or she gets here."

"When though?"

"In a few more months." she assured before she reached over and tucked aside a few loose locks of her violet-red hair. "Do you... have any questions?"

"Can it be a sister?"

She tried not to laugh again and gave a light shrug. "I can't really control that, what happens will happen. You may get a sister or a brother."

"Can I get both?"

Oh Goddess... that was a terrifying thought, one that she hadn't even considered. What if there were two, what if it was twins? She was having a hard enough time just getting over the shock of one, let alone the thought of two. But she didn't want to say something that might scare the girl. "Uh... like I said, we'll just have to see."

Amy remained quiet for a moment, calming down as she seemed to finally think something through. "Will they be coming from where I came from?"

There was the kind of question she had been bracing herself for. It wasn't exactly what she was expecting but... it was close enough. "Well, they'll be growing in my stomach, honey."

"Where did I grow?"

"... You grew in my heart."

She wasn't entirely sure if that helped at all and judging from the silence following, she had a feeling of dread about it. She had always been adamant about raising Amy as her own and letting her ask about things later on when she was more comfortable with it. The day was going to come when she asked questions or if someone else pointed it out and... she told herself at that moment she would tell her everything- whether or not she'd end up hating her later for it. She would wait for her to ask about it though, that's when it would be safest.

It took a moment before the girl jumped out of her seat once more. "When are they going to be here again?"

"In a few more months." Calill repeated.

"I want them to be here now though."

"Well honey... I can't help that. You're going to have to take that up with nature."


	3. Chapter 3

She had been in the middle of rearranging the opening lobby to the inn, fixing skewed paintings that the workers had knocked aside and cleaning off a few scuff marks they made as well, before a messenger came knocking in. At first she wanted to curse him for getting mud on her new carpet but every bit of anger kind of flushed away when he handed her the news.

It was a letter from Lucia that said that the escort ordeal was over with and that the caravan would be back home by tomorrow morning.

There was an immediate rush of relief, followed closely by a feeling of panic and worry.

There were still things she needed to get done. She needed to fix up the inn for reopening, get a few things figured out at the tavern and then get back and clean the house- not to mention, she would probably need to help Amy after school.

But he was finally coming back home after almost a month of absence.

The anxiety and stress from before had carefully eased itself away in the past couple of days. She wasn't certain if it was because Lucia had tried to be around more often or if she had just finally let the situation ease itself out. Although it was difficult not to let it seeing as the past few mornings she had awoken to the easy sight of a more, well-noticeable curve to her stomach. It wasn't necessary visible from all sides, but she did have to let out the waist line on a few of her dresses- although she wasn't exactly to the point of where she would need to buy a new one just yet. At first she slightly dreaded the added weight, but the feeling was only occasional; she found herself almost enjoying running her hand over it from time to time- although she wouldn't outright admit it just yet.

It was... certainly going to be a surprise for him tomorrow morning.

* * *

The sun couldn't come up soon enough and she certainly couldn't get out of bed quick enough either. She panicked slightly over which dress to wear but found that the more challenging portion of the morning had nothing to do with her.

The moment she told Amy about the good news, the girl simply couldn't stand still. Even the morning of, she had to partly chase the girl around just to get her dressed; she wanted to dash out the door in little else but her sleepwear. So trying to wrestle her into a more suitable outfit was difficult but doable seeing as she wanted to get out of the house just as eagerly. She supposed they could've just waited at the house for him to return but... it would be more exciting to meet him at the palace instead.

He probably wouldn't be expecting them there anyways.

After arriving at the palace, it wasn't all that difficult to figure out where he would be; there was a large gathering of people in one of the back courtyards and she recognized a few of them standing around. Amy ran off towards Queen Elincia the moment she spotted the green-haired woman, which she didn't necessarily object to; call her selfish, she wanted just a small bit of privacy with him first.

When she finally spotted him in the crowd, he was speaking with Lucia and she considered letting the two have their own moment for now. But it didn't take him long to spot her just the same and when he did, he didn't seem to have any problem leaving his sister behind. Hopefully Lucia wouldn't take it too hard. She tried not to get too overly excited, even if she wanted to run across the courtyard and jump into his arms... maybe throw him to the floor and- that was for later celebration actually.

Instead, she had to restrain herself just long enough for him to get close enough before she helped to clear the space between them. Yes, he had only been gone for almost a month's time, but it felt like such a longer period of time; she had to wait far too long to feel the warmth of his arms around her once more. She had needed this kind of contact for a long time now.

"Hey… told you there was nothing to worry about." he whispered, as he moved his fingers through her hair.

She chuckled lightly before she tilted herself back to look up to him. "I overheard you telling Lucia about breaking your arm... But at least you're back in one piece."

"I've broken my arm plenty of times before, you know that." he replied as he matched her chuckle before he leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead. " I hope nothing drastic has happened since I've been gone. Have the patrons been treating you well?"

"Yeah something like that." she shrugged lightly. "I finally got the inn fixed up and the house redecorated for the second time, Amy got some new classes but... that's about it. I bet it's nothing quite like the stories you have to share."

"Oh, you don't want to hear about those stories. To be honest, I'm surprised I still have this job after-"

"Dad! Dad!" And... there was Amy finally.

Well, at least she got her little moment beforehand. There would be plenty of time later on to catch up on things.

Regardless, the two of them looked back at the voice and laughed slightly at the sight of the girl as she came bouncing across the courtyard towards them.

"Now there's another face that I've missed." he spoke as he stepped away from her and leaned down to scoop up the girl just as she jumped into his arms. "How have you been? Hope you didn't miss me much."

"A little bit." Amy admitted with her head buried into the curve of his shoulder. Without warning, she suddenly pushed herself away but kept her hands rested on his arms, holding herself at an arm's length away. "Did momma tell you about the baby yet?"

She felt her face flush with heat at the sudden question that, without a doubt, easily drew in the attention of everyone close by- Goddess knows the girl couldn't possibly have asked that any louder. His expression seemed to match with the curious looks the others around them were passing around and it wasn't long before she felt his eyes turn to her for an answer. Oh, he always looked so cute with that expression on... She managed a short smile as fingers moved to toy slightly with her lower lip. "Um, no sweetheart, I haven't… exactly told him about that."

"Momma's having a baby!"

And… there was the punch line.

Absolutely no hesitation, no easing it into the conversation, no... waiting for the right moment or even a bit of privacy to tell him. No, this had to be it.

Although she did have to admit that his reaction to the news was absolutely priceless. The whole reaction to the Goddess wishing to destroy the world was a notch or two below this one.

She should probably try to work on the damage control at this point though.

"You know how we were talking about maybe starting a family when things cooled down…" she remarked as she moved one hand to rest against his arm; fingers lightly tangling in the sleeve of his uniform. "But we didn't really talk it all the way out?"

Again, silence.

This moment really reminded her of Lucia's own reaction... it must've been a family thing to need absolute silence to get things through.

It seemed to take another moment before he finally found his voice. "You mean… you're…"

"Yeah- but we can discuss this later, when we have a bit more privacy." she answered with a bit of a rush behind her words.

And, it didn't take long after the subtle confirmation before everyone around them seemed to swarm forward.

"Hey congratulations." Lucia remarked as she walked over and clapped her hand against his back. "Just wait until Lady Delbray hears about this; she's been on my back about giving her a grandchild, so I'm glad to see you stepped in instead."

"Why tis the greatest news to be received." Bastian easily joined in before he moved to wrap his arms around her instead. "There are many blessings to be had here, why we must prepare a ceremony-"

"Bastian, calm down." Lucia started, to no avail.

"General, why didn't you inform us of this?"

And here came the rest of the crowd.

Bastian wasn't lying when he said that they should have a get together to celebrate the joyous news.

While he remarked that he just wanted to spend time with her right now, she insisted that he join in with the others to celebrate his return anyways. After all, there would be plenty of time for them later. She had managed to withstand the last-minute celebration for a short bit but then the exhaustion started to set in again and she had to excuse herself- although she still insisted that he stay for the others at least.

And despite constant questioning, she told everyone that she wasn't going to discuss the whole baby issue until after they had.

After leaving the celebration, she picked up a few more errands she had to take care of and worked around the tavern for a little bit as well. She needed the extra time to put everything together in her head anyways and right now... she had nothing.

By the time the sun was finally setting, she had long since closed down both businesses and locked herself in the comforts of her own home. Any time before, she would've laughed at herself for going to bed so early, but she no longer cared about that anymore; she needed the sleep.

She chuckled lightly at the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the house; glad to finally have the silence broken and filled with something a bit more homely. His footsteps finally made their way down the upstairs hallway and when they passed the doorway she figured he was putting Amy back to bed finally. Even though she had left beforehand, Amy wanted to stay with him and after some negotiating, she let her have her way.

But it didn't take long before those footsteps came back through.

The door creaked quietly as he pushed it aside and she could've laughed at his exhausted expression.

"I'm surprised you didn't come to bed sooner." she mused, stretching briefly as she rolled over to settle on her back. "I figured the travel alone would've exhausted you."

"Oh it did, but you know how Bastian can be and he insisted that I celebrate with _all_ of the officers." he replied with a tired chuckle as he stepped into the room; hands already in the midst of removing his uniform tunic. "I'm not going to leave this bed for days now though."

"Hmm, careful I still have to take care of my businesses."

He seemed to pause slightly at her words before he shook his head. "That's not exactly what I meant but... you can always get Margaret and Damon to look after the tavern and inn." he remarked as he tossed the loose tunic aside before he moved over to her bedside. His hands moved to press down into the sheets beneath her as he leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead once more; this time though, they gradually moved downward.

She chuckled lightly again and leaned up just enough to catch his lips against her own; feeling the familiar sense of warmth again. "Cheryl can look after Amy for a few days… we can have the house to ourselves." she murmured against his lips.

"Sounds like a good time."

Oh, how it did indeed.

Her hands moved up to brush against the flat of his bare chest; her fingers curling lightly against the warmth of his skin. "I've certainly missed this…"

"And... I'm glad to see that nothing has changed with you." he replied with a light chuckle that eased warm air into the curve of her neck.

She tangled her fingers briefly in his blue strands as the light press of his lips carried on down her neck. "Hmm... I'd love to get an early start on that home vacation, but I might fall asleep in the middle of it."

"Oh don't worry, I was pretty certain I'd probably collapse on you just the same." he nodded with a faint chuckle before he pushed himself away and slowly moved to the other side of the bed.

She swore she felt herself pop up slightly when he collapsed onto the mattress, causing her to have to rearrange her position a bit when the bed finally settled. After waiting for him to settle in and find his own position, she moved to fit herself more comfortably against him; resting her head against his broad shoulder while he managed to fit both arms around her.

Now this was the feeling that she wanted ever since the house had been finished.

If they were lucky, this room wouldn't have to go to waste on one person again any time soon.

She felt the gentle way his fingers toyed with her loose locks, gingerly moving through each strand at his own pace. Occasionally, he'd brush against the curve of her jaw as he pulled each lock over the shape of her shoulder before he moved it back.

"... Is this later enough to discuss the topic of the day?"

Another light chuckle left her at his question before she collected one of his hands into her own and moved it to rest against at her stomach. The shape was subtle but it was enough to fill out the space of his palm. "I was wondering when you were going to bring it up again."

"I just wanted to give you some time." he remarked slowly enough.

"Oh, I've had about a month to think it over." she replied. "I was waiting for the right time to tell you, but... Amy beat me to it. I guess I should've waited until after you came home before I told her."

"Well, it made for a great welcoming home announcement." he chuckled. "I can't say that I was expecting that."

She shifted slightly to rest more comfortably in his arm, feeling the way he moved to wrap his hands around her, before she settled in once more. It was getting late, they were both on the brink of exhaustion, him more so than her, but... she didn't quite want to pass on the matter too soon. While it could all wait till the morning, she needed to know one thing. "So... what do you think?"

He was quiet for the moment before he gently tugged her up against him. "I think... it was a good idea to put that extra room in." he started, slowly enough. "And also, Lady Delbray is going to go insane over the news."

She had no doubts about that and when she chuckled to herself at just the image of the woman's reaction, she heard him quietly laugh with her. "And you're going to go insane because you're going to have to deal with me getting fat and ugly and basically hating you for what you are."

He brought his lips to the soft curve of one temple and brushed his palm against the curve of her jaw once again. "Don't worry, I'll love you even if you hate me."

"You don't really have a choice anymore."


End file.
